Terminology

Anti-Gypsyism is a distinct type of racist ideology. It is, at the same time, similar, different, and intertwined with many other types of racism. Anti-Gypsyism itself is a complex social phenomenon which manifests itself through violence, hate speech, exploitation, and discrimination in its most visible form. (…) Anti-Gypsyism is a very specific form of racism, an ideology of racial superiority, a form of dehumanisation and of institutionalised racism. It is fuelled by historical discrimination and the struggle to maintain power relations that permit advantages to majority groups. It is based, on the one hand, on imagined fears, negative stereotypes and myths and, on the other, on denial or erasure from the public conscience of a long history of discrimination against Roma.

Anti-Tsiganism, anti-Gypsyism, and Romaphobia essentially mean the same thing. … The three terms do not vary in content but in usage. While anti-Gypsyism is the term most often used on the international level some Roma, especially those from Eastern Europe, prefer the term anti-Tsiganism as Tsigan is the term used in their region. Both terms, Gypsy and Tsigan, are pejorative in nature, which is why some scholars prefer the term Romaphobia.